GoPro made a splash recently with the unveiling of its Karma drone. Not only does the Karma fold up for easy transport, it has a beginner-friendly flight system designed not only to assist in operation, but to teach proper flight control techniques as well.
And despite the Karma’s relatively low base price of $799, it had an uphill climb making a dent in an industry currently dominated by drone manufacturers like DJI, makers of the popular Phantom series. And now, roughly a week later, DJI has unveiled a compact drone of its own that makes that uphill climb even steeper.
The DJI Mavic Pro has a foldable design allowing it to reduce to half the size of the GoPro Karma in its folded state. A hands-on piece by the folks over at The Verge shows the Mavic Pro nearly fitting in the palm of the author’s hand when folded. That means you can easily throw this thing in a backpack or a purse. Honestly, it makes the giant Karma backpack GoPro’s marketing suggests people lug around look silly.
Even the Mavic Pro’s remote control is compact, folding down to a simple, two-joystick scheme with a built-in LCD displaying flight data alongside dedicated buttons for Return-to-Home and more. The controller also expands to allow for connection to a smartphone for enhanced control through an app.
